Paolo Banchero scored 23 points for the Orlando Magic during Wednesday night’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers, contributing to the team’s 126-120 win.
Bennedict Mathurin came off the Pacers bench and scored 26 points in the second straight game, and Myles Turner added 22 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, who had a 116-110 win over Chicago the night before. Buddy Hield hit his first five 3-point shots and ended up with 21 points.
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Wendell Carter Jr. had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic. Orlando made 15 of 28 attempts from 3-point range and shot 56% overall.
Harris, who shot 8 of 9, was the only one of 11 Magic players who didn’t have an assist.
“My teammates did a good job of finding me,” he said. “If the ball moves like he does – I mean, we had a season-high in assists today (34). When the ball pops, you need to step it up and shoot the ball with confidence.
“(My shots) definitely came in rhythm with the game. We did a great job moving the ball.”
The Pacers fell 11-0 down and never caught up. They lost for the eighth time in nine games since NBA assistant Tyrese Haliburton retired with a sprained left knee and left elbow.
Banchero scored 13 points in the first quarter of the 46-point Magic, during which they shot 64% and built a 17-point lead.
“Miss the first quarter. We need to get better starts,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. “They hit us with a lot of shots, drove to the basket and we were on their heels. The second night in a row is no excuse because we have been good in situations like this all year.”
Hield hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Pacers came back to two points before going 73-68 down at halftime.
Orlando regained a double-digit lead just before the buzzer in the third quarter after Franz Wagner’s layup after a long pass from Jalen Suggs.
The Magic went up 17 points early in the fourth quarter before Indiana closed within four points in the final minute.
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